--- title: "Palantir Cofounder Announces Cruel Plan to Breed Thousands of Lab Monkeys for Medical Experiments" description: "Billionaire venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale recently announced a $20 million investment into a controversial monkey breeding startup." date: "2026-10-31" modified: "2026-10-31" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins.md" url: "https://futurism.com/science-energy/palantir-lonsdale-lab-monkeys-medical-research" categories: - "Biology" - "Future Society" - "Science & Energy" - "The Industrialists" --- # Palantir Cofounder Announces Cruel Plan to Breed Thousands of Lab Monkeys for Medical Experiments ![A macaque in a cage.]() *Shutterstock* Medical institutions throughout the US are under siege, as a [rising cohort]() of venture capitalists and risky biotech startups move in to exploit the Trump administration's hands-off approach to health regulation. Chief among them is Palantir cofounder and billionaire venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale. The billionaire's new startup, Safer Human Medicine, plans to sell picks and shovels to the new generation of experimental medical companies — in other words, macaque monkeys. As [*Forbes* reports](), Lonsdale's venture capital firm 8VC has invested $20 million in Safer Human Medicine, a company which is working to breed some 30,000 macaques destined for medical experiments at the hands of America's freshman bio-tech startups. In a a podcast appearance in May, Lonsdale justified the move as "pro-human." "Would you rather save your sibling or the monkey?" the billionaire asked. "America needs a reliable domestic supply of research primates to help rapidly advance cures for our kids," Lonsdale told *Forbes* in a statement. "Leadership means having the courage to support research that can save lives even when it sounds controversial." The founder of Safer Human Medicine, Jim Harkness, has a checkered past, to say the last. During his previous role as COO of research animal supplier Envigo, a dog-breeding lab in Virginia was ordered to [surrender over 4,000 beagles]() after federal officials found widespread violations of the Animal Welfare and Clean Water acts. Envigo's parent company, Inotiv Inc., later [pleaded guilty](), agreeing to pay $35 million in fines. In a [letter]() addressed to residents of Decatur County, Georgia — the planned site of a [contested Safer Human facility]() — Harkness explained that in his eyes, the ends justify the means when it comes to animal research. Far from being unethical, Harkness wrote that what's actually "immoral" is to "allow humans and animals to suffer from disease and illness." Concluding, Harkness wrote that "the use of animals in human and veterinary research is viewed by those involved as a scientifically justifiable means to an end that must be preserved to ensure that humans and animals don't have to needlessly endure disease and suffering." **More on animal welfare:** *[Palmer Luckey Says He's Breeding Genetically Enhanced Dogs for the Military]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [China Plans to Send Monkeys to Space Station to Have Sex With Each Other]() - [Elon Musk Says Neuralink Tests Only on Terminally Ill Monkeys]() - [Is Organic Really Better? 4 Food Myths Debunked By Science]() - [Scientists Stored “The Wizard of Oz” on a Strand of DNA]() - [Google AI Solves Longstanding, Near-Impossible Biology Problem]() - [The World’s First-Ever “Synthetic Embryo” Is Already Causing Controversy]() - [University Denies Monkeys That Escaped in Truck Crash Were Infected With Horrific Diseases]() - [The Moon Astronauts Brought Along USB Stick-Sized Living Samples of Their Own Tissue]()